Phoenix Too Frequent (6 July 1966)

 The ABC film Chris Fry's play again. Why? They shot it in 1957 before.

Premise

Dynamene, a grieving widow in Ancient Greece gradually finds the attractions of a young soldier, Tegeus, outweighs her determination to join her husband in the underworld. 

Cast

• Sean Scully as Tegeus
• Lynette Curran as Dynamene
• Fay Kelton as Doto

Original play

The play debuted in 1946. I wrote about it in the entry on the 1957 production.

Production

Oscar Whitbread directed in Melbourne.

I spoke with Sean Scully and asked him about the play. He said he had "Very dim memories. It was a  three hander. I just learned the lines and there was no furniture to bump into (laughs). It was directed by Oscar Whitbread for whom I did Romeo and Juliet. Oscar was a lovely guy. I wouldn’t have any sort of black mark against Oscar, he was lovely. I thought Fay was very good, very nice. Lyn was very nice and very pretty and good."

Music - Frank Smith. Technical superviser - Robert Forster. Designer - Paul Cleveland. Producer and director - Oscar Whitbread.

The NAA has photos and correspondence see here. It also has a complete copy. Not on line. See here.
 

The Age 6 July 1966 p 14

SMH 11 July 1966 TV Guide

The Age TV Guide 30 June 1966 p 11

SMH 13 July 1966 p 12

TV Times Vic

Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Seven Comedies from the 1960s
by Stephen Vagg
September 19, 2021
Stephen Vagg’s series on forgotten Australian television plays looks at seven different comedies from the late 1960s: How Do You Spell Matrimony?, Face at the Clubhouse Door, The Brass Guitar, The Proposal, The Bear, A Phoenix Too Frequent and Tilley Landed On Our Shores.

As any comedian knows, comedy goes in and out of fashion on Australian television. Sketch shows are in, then they’re out. Sitcoms are hot, then they’re not. They can’t get enough stand-up, then they don’t want any. The only network you can rely on is the ABC and they have limited funds and varying enthusiasms.

During the late 1960s, the national broadcaster was more open to comedy than it had been earlier in the decade. There was a mini-boom of comedy on Australian television in those years, due, I would argue, to the immense and immediate success of two programs on the commercial stations: The Mavis Bramston Show and My Name’s McGooley, What’s Yours? The ABC – more influenced by the commercials than it cared to admit – decided that it should get in on the hyucks. I have written about other comedies in previous pieces – The Man Who Saw It, The Lace Counter, The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me. This essay looks at seven different ABC TV plays from the second half of the 1960s. (I’ll admit it – I don’t quite have enough to talk about each play individually but anyways, here we go)...

A Phoenix Too Frequent (1966)

This was based on a one-act play by Christopher Fry set in Ancient Greece about a noblewoman (Lynette Curran) who is keeping consul in her late husband’s tomb, determined to join him in the underworld. She deals with her wacky maid (Fay Kelton) and winds up falling for a soldier (Sean Scully) guarding a tomb nearby.

This was one of three TV plays that the ABC did in 1966 to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of Greek theatre – the others were Point of Departure and Antigone. As with The Proposal, the ABC had previously filmed Fry’s play in 1957, though all copies of the latter seem to be lost.

Look, it’s 60 minutes of Chris Fry verse comedy set in Ancient Greece, so if that doesn’t float your boat you might struggle, but the playing is light and lively, and the actors seem to be having a lot of fun. The youth of Scully and Curran give extra energy and comedy to their parts. Oscar Whitbread directed with his usual swooping, moving camera; he had the most recognisable style of the ‘60s directors at the ABC.